Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-07-16
AVOIDING THE QUESTION.

In all the Herald'S pretended argu-
ments in favor of Statehood it will be
seen that it avoids the main question
and tries to mislead by arguing some
thing which is not disputed by those who
understand the situation here in Utah.
Thus in this mornings issue as well as
in all others of late there is a long rant
over the improbability, or as they put it,
the impossibility of their going back up
on the anti-polygamous provision OF the
Constitution.
How many times will the Herald have
to be reminded that this has little or
nothing to do with the issue? They may
let the clause remain in force forever or
they may repeal it the day after Utah is
admitted and the result would be the
same. 1t is not the law that is needed,
it is the enforcement OF the law and that
is something that the Herald don't seem
TO be prepared to face. On one
or two occasions it has referred
to the subject, but has each time shown
the fact tina. this is a question with
which they are not prepared to deal. On
one occasion the sheet admitted that it
expected to see the law enforced in GER
tain slip-shod way that would result in
nothing, but it did not expect to see
Especial attention paid to this offense," "
and it did not expect to see "vindictive-
ness" in the enforcement of the law.
This morning it reminds the public that
not more than half dozen convictions
of this kind have been made in Utah
in the past, and now we ask why should
we expect that single one should be
made in the future. With all the "spe-
cial attention" that has been given to this
class of cases, with all the "unfair vim
dictiveness" that has been shown, it has
taken four years to convict six men.
Will any honest Mormon pretend to say
that any one Of these convictions could
have been had without every iota of the
strength used by the prosecution? Will
any honest Mormon pretend to say
that he expects to see a single
conviction if Utah were admitted to
Statehood? The Herald continues
"Whatever inclination in that direction
may exist, would naturally and neces-
sarily diminish when the people had
themselves set the seal of condemnation
on the practice, declared it to be mis-
demeanor and incompatible with a re-
publican form of government and pro-
vided severe penalties for those who vio-
late the prohibitary provision"
Who are the people themselves?
Have the polygamists of Utah said that
they would give up the practice? If we
take the word of the Church papers
when they said that the plan originated
in the Convention and did not come from
the Church, we should say not. There
was, presumably, not polygamist in
the Convention and the polygs will
not be allowed to vote upon the Consti-
tuition, so where do "the people" come
in? 1t is an open secret that many of
thep polygamists are opposed to the plan
and would vote against 1t if they
had a chance to.
a 1.-THE Mormons will promise to make
'taws against polygamy and unlawful
rehabilitation and will promise to retain
the same marshal, deputies, prosecutor
and courts that we have now, The DEMO
Graf will give its entire influence and
will get Utah into the Union.